


Learning Curve

by taywen



Category: Katekyou Hitman Reborn!, Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe, Canon-Typical Violence, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Gen, M/M, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-11-17
Updated: 2013-01-23
Packaged: 2017-11-18 20:46:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,698
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/565111
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/taywen/pseuds/taywen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"... Tell me your ideal world isn't civilian suburbia." </p><p>In which Kakashi and Obito try to use Kamui on each other and end up in Namimori. Or, the one where Kakashi and Obito join the Vongola Famiglia.</p><p>Spoilers for recent chapters of Naruto, post-series for KHR!. Though the story centers on Kakashi and Obito, their (eventual!) romantic relationship is not the main focus.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Kakashi knows he can't win. Even with everything he and Gai throw at Obito - and they are a formidable combination, make no mistake - they can barely even touch their former comrade, much less injure him. Even if Naruto manages to defeat Madara, will he still be strong enough to take care of Obito?

They can't afford to take that chance.

"Gai, cover me," Kakashi says, trying to catch his breath.

"My Eternal Rival-" Gai shoots a worried look at him, as if sensing his intent. Kakashi doesn't think about the fact that Gai knows him better than just about anyone still alive.

"More meaningless words," Obito sneers. "You've realized it by now, haven't you? You cannot defeat me." He launches himself at Kakashi as if to accentuate his point, his movements too fast for the (Obito's) Sharingan to track.

"Now, Gai," Kakashi barks, dodging.

Gai swoops in, forcing Obito to dodge his powerful kick. Obito's giant shuriken still scores a deep cut along his upper arm as the Uchiha moves past him, but Kakashi ignores the pain. Spinning to keep Obito in his sight, Kakashi closes his right eye. In the brief moment that Obito pauses on one of the flying rocks to reorient himself, Kakashi activates Kamui.

Surprise and fury flit across Obito's face before settling into the familiar snarl. "Nice try!" He lunges at Kakashi, free hand outstretched.

Kakashi ignores the drain on his chakra, the protesting of exhausted muscles and the sweat dripping down his brow. His entire attention is focussed on sending Obito to the other dimension.

Obito's hand closes around his shoulder, and Kakashi feels a moment of vertigo before-

-he stumbles onto a paved road.

Obito darts away, a look of confusion on his face.

"This is what Kamui looks like?" Kakashi asks, frowning. He glances around at- the closest thing he can think of to describe their surroundings is a residential area within a large city. Streetlights illuminate the street at regular intervals, revealing uniform fences guarding an equally similar row of mid-sized houses on either side of the street.

"Of course not," Obito snaps. "What did you _do_?!"

"The same thing you attempted to do!" Kakashi retorts, abruptly remembering that he and Obito are fighting to the death, here. His hand drops to the pouch of weapons strapped to his thigh but-

But the pouch is gone.

A quick glance at himself reveals that he's clad in standard ANBU garb, the wounds sustained during the recent fights completely absent. There's a katana strapped across his back, but he hasn't handled the blade since-

Well, since he was part of ANBU.

He looks at Obito and does a double take. The man - boy? - is dressed in a plain black variation of the Akatsuki uniform, the scars marring his face more pronounced. Fresher. He can't be more than twenty - late teens, by Kakashi's guess. His left eye socket gapes open, empty.

"This _is not_ Kamui," Obito growls, stalking forward. He brings a gloved, half-clenched fist to his face as if to send a katon at Kakashi but-

Nothing happens.

"What happened to us?" Kakashi demands, drawing the katana anyway. It's better than facing Obito empty-handed. He summons lightning chakra to his hand and is only a little surprised when it crackles along the blade.

But it doesn't chirp - it isn't Chidori or Raikiri, just plain lightning chakra.

"Why can you-" Obito breaks off, furious. He makes several other movements, as if attempting other techniques. Except nothing happens, so it's rather comical.

"So you don't know why we seem to have reverted to younger versions of ourselves?" Kakashi enquires mildly, though he doesn't relax his ready stance in the slightest. Obito's still strong, even if he can't use any jutsu.

Now that he focuses, the flow of chakra in Obito's body looks- different. It remains dormant while Obito fruitlessly tries to channel it into attacks, and its form is more reminiscent of flames than the pure energy that Kakashi is accustomed to.

"I-" Obito stiffens, a hand rising to his empty eye socket as if just noticing it for the first time. "Your chakra looks different." His lone Sharingan narrows, and he stalks closer.

Kakashi raises the katana warningly. "Stay back."

Obito's face twists into a snarl. "Activate your Mangekyou," he orders.

"It is-" Kakashi stops, his Sharingan faithfully sharpening the details of his old comrade's face for him. Obito's right eye is red- just red. There are no tomoe spinning around the pupil, and the sharp-edged sickle of his Mangekyou is absent.

He tries to activate it, but it doesn't work. In fact, he can't feel the slow, steady drain of chakra that uncovering his Sharingan usually invokes.

"You can't, can you?" Obito asks flatly, more statement than question. "I can't either. Wherever we are... We're stuck here."

"... Tell me your ideal world isn't civilian suburbia," Kakashi says.

Obito shoots him a murderous glare, made even more horrifying by the gaping eye socket. "Shut up." His eye falls on the crackling katana in Kakashi's hand and he resumes his attempts to channel his chakra.

Kakashi knows that he should be using this opportunity to kill Obito - or at the very least, severely wound him - but he simply... can't bring himself to. Obito is many, many things to Kakashi, but enemy is not one of them.

And then his chakra shifts, gathering in his palm. Kakashi tenses, even as Obito's frustrated expression recedes slightly.

Branches sprout from his uplifted palm, a flurry of leaves rising and shooting towards Kakashi.

It's like no doton that Kakashi has ever seen, but he's not taking any chances - he dodges, alighting on the gate post of a nearby fence. He stumbles, the second nature reflex of summoning chakra to steady his balance failing him. Thankfully he still has his natural reflexes, and regains his footing.

"What the hell is that?" he demands, launching himself along the length of the fence towards Obito. His blade sweeps out, lightning arcing towards his opponent. _Green_ lightning.

Obito dodges, the pavement scorched where Kakashi's lightning struck. More leaves appear around him, somehow threatening despite the fact that they're, well, leaves. The layer of foliage between Obito and Kakashi is so thick that he has trouble spotting the Uchiha through it.

"It's rude to start a fight in another Family's territory," a voice says, behind Obito.

Kakashi tenses, automatically darting to the left; Obito does the same, but in the opposite direction.

A tiny figure stands just beyond the light of the nearest streetlamp. A small child, judging by the size - and the voice was high, young.

"Who are you?" the child adds, with an authority that is completely incongruous when coupled with its (his) small stature.

"Where are we?" Obito demands, his aggressive stance suggesting that he's ready to attack the child.

To be fair, Kakashi's probably isn't much better.

"Namimori, Japan. Now answer the question, please." But it really isn't a request.

The names mean nothing to Kakashi. He can't think of any country or province by that name.

"We're not on the Elemental Continent?" Obito asks.

"'Elemental Continent'?" the child echoes thoughtfully. "No, there's no such thing." He steps into the light, but the brim of his strange hat casts most of his face in shadow. There's a black- thing in each of his small hands, one pointed at each of them. Kakashi assumes they're weapons of some kind, but he's never seen anything like that before. "Names, or I'll shoot."

Kakashi finds himself trading a glance with Obito.

"No?" The child doesn't sound as disappointed as he should. "In that case-"

Kakashi hears the sharp crack before he registers the pain. By then, he's falling from the fence. He nearly bites through his cheek, keeping the shout of pain from escaping when he lands on his injured knee. Damn that attack was fast - his Sharingan couldn't even track it-

Obito grunts as he hits the ground, similarly incapacitated.

The light in the second floor of the house behind the child flicks on, but Kakashi barely notices that.

"Names. Now," the child says, pointing the weapons at their heads this time.

"Hatake Kakashi," he says, glaring up at the child. From this angle, he can see most of the boy's face - no recognition passes across it when he utters his name.

"Uchiha Madara," receives a similar lack of recognition, which is more troubling than the child not knowing Kakashi's name. He's more famous for his moniker of Copy-nin than for his own name; but Uchiha Madara must be a name known to most people on the Elemental Continent. And the child didn't even blink when Obito uttered the name.

"Was that so hard?" the child drawls. "Of course, those names don't tell me anything... So you'll have to answer a few more questions. You still have some intact ball joints left, don't you..?"

"Reborn!" an older male voice calls as someone bursts out of the front door. "Who are you shooting at this time of night?!"

"Intruders, No-Good Tsuna," the child (Reborn?) says coolly. "Now, what's your business here, Hatake and Uchiha? You're no yakuza, but you're not mafia, either."

A boy (Tsuna?) around Kakashi and Obito's current age joins Reborn, frowning down at them. "They're dressed like ninja," he says.

Reborn tilts his head. "Perhaps. Are you ninja? And answer the first question, unless you want a bullet in the shoulder."

"We're ninja," Kakashi says, seeing no reason to hide that fact. Ninja must not commonplace in... _Namimori, Japan_ , though apparently the people here know what they look like.

"That spineless weakling sent me here," Obito adds coldly. It sounds petty, though, and by the way Obito's lips compress, Kakashi assumes that the Uchiha realizes it.

"Ninja," Reborn repeats flatly. Disbelievingly. He turns to Kakashi, though the weapon trained on Obito doesn't waver. "You're the one who brought the two of you here?"

Kakashi grimaces. "We brought each other here."

"Brought how?" Tsuna asks.

Reborn clears his throat, a sound that is somehow menacing, when the silence drags on for several long moments.

"There's a- a technique that we can use to send things - objects or people - to other dimensions," Kakashi says.

"That sounds like-" Tsuna starts.

"-Flames of the Night," Reborn finishes, nodding. As if they've just confirmed a suspicion. "I felt the sudden spike of Flames and decided to observe these two. They really do seem to be from... another world."

Flames? Kakashi frowns. He can only use a few fire jutsu, and Kamui certainly isn't one of those few.

"So you already knew, but you wanted to hear us answer anyway?!" Obito snarls.

Reborn fixes his cool, too-adult gaze on Obito. "Is that a problem?"

"You brat!"

"Ah, I suppose a shoulder isn't that important anyway," Reborn remarks, his weapon moving slightly from Obito's head to the limb in question.

"Stop it," Tsuna says, the atmosphere around the four of them- _shifting_.

Kakashi's gaze flicks to the previously unassuming young man - a brilliant orange flame is burning on his _forehead_ , his eyes half-lidded and serious as he stares Obito and Reborn down.

Kakashi tries a subtle substitution technique, then a teleportation - sadly (but unsurprisingly), neither works. No chance of escape while the others are occupied, not with his kneecap shot.

"Bring them inside, Reborn, I'll have Ryohei-nii heal them tomorrow. I'm sure we can discuss any problems inside, away from the open street," the boy continues, unquestionably in charge. Kakashi tries not to stare, because before it seemed as if Reborn was the one with the authority here.

"Tch. As the Neo Vongola Primo insists," Reborn says, his expression inscrutable. The weapons disappear _somewhere_ in a feat that would surely make most shinobi envious. "Get up and limp inside, both of you."

"Or what?" Obito sneers.

"Or I'll knock you out and drag you inside myself," Tsuna says calmly.

Kakashi decides to stay on the relatively good side of the strange boys and staggers to his feet. "I don't suppose I'd be permitted to ask a few questions of my own?" he inquires mildly, limping towards the open gate dutifully.

"You may ask whatever you like," Tsuna tells him, fixing that strange gaze on him.

"What are you? That's no child," he adds, nodding towards Reborn. "And you're not an ordinary teenager either."

"Tsuna is the Neo Vongola Primo," Reborn says, repeating the meaningless words to Kakashi again.

"I'm a candidate for the next head of a powerful family," Tsuna answers.

"... Like a clan?" Kakashi presses, trying to make sense of it.

" _The_ candidate. You're the _only_ candidate, No-Good Tsuna," Reborn says.

"Shush," Tsuna says absently, catching Kakashi's arm and steadying him when he nearly falls. "Really, Reborn, did you have to kneecap them?"

"A certain idiot told me not to kill intruders," is the boy's inscrutable reply.

Tsuna doesn't quite roll his eyes, but Kakashi gets the impression he'd like to. "I suppose a clan is accurate, yes," he adds.

Kakashi's about to ask more about Reborn - it seems like Tsuna's influence would be enough to prevent drawing the ire of the boy - but he sees Obito moving out of the corner of his eye and reacts instinctively.

The flurry of leaves that Obito summons is halted when Kakashi manages to create a _sheet_ of lightning arcing from his outstretched fingers to a foot or so beyond Reborn before any of Obito's attack can strike the child.

Reborn already has one of the strange black weapons out again, and Kakashi stumbles as Tsuna simply disappears, leaving only the white after impressions of harsh light behind in Kakashi's vision.

The lightning and the leaves disappear - nullify each other? - just before Reborn shoots the weapon into Obito's other knee, and Tsuna reappears behind, his hands on _fire_. A swift chop to the back of his neck, and Obito's eye rolls into the back of his head as he slumps forward.

"Don't kill him," Kakashi blurts out before he can stop himself.

Tsuna and Reborn both turn to look at him.

"Why not?" Tsuna asks.

"The two of you are obviously enemies," Reborn adds. "Or... at the very least, he considers you to be an enemy."

Kakashi glances from one to the other, before settling on Tsuna. He's the one in charge here, Kakashi decides. "We were comrades once. I- Many things have happened since then, but he doesn't-" The words catch in his throat; he can't bring himself to finish _he doesn't deserve to die_. Obito has killed, or caused the death of, many people. Countless people. "I want to fix things, if I can," he finishes lamely, leaning heavily against the fence.

Tsuna studies him in silence for a moment. "You're telling the truth," he says at length, bending slightly to pull Obito over his shoulder. Despite being clad in nothing more than pyjamas - how easy it is to forget, considering the sheer force of presence that the teenager has - and having a rather small frame for his age, Tsuna carries the larger Obito easily. "I don't sense any malice from you, either," he adds, almost as an afterthought, before striding past Kakashi and taking Obito into the yard.

Reborn jumps down from the fence, still gazing at Kakashi will those beady dark eyes. "After you," he says coolly, the weapon still held loosely in one hand.

Kakashi limps after Tsuna, who pauses at the threshold.

"Ah, and Hatake-san?" Tsuna glances over the shoulder not supporting a limp Obito. "If you or your former comrade tries to harm one of my precious people again, I won't hesitate to kill either of you," he says calmly.

Kakashi nods, fighting back an instinctual shiver. "Understood, Neo Vongola Primo-sama."

Behind him, Reborn snorts softly.

"Just Tsuna will be fine, Hatake-san," the teenager adds mildly.

"In that case... My name is Kakashi," he replies, mustering a smile. "Tsuna-san."

He doesn't know anything about this strange dimension, but it seems likely that Reborn and Tsuna are, if not powerful members of society, then well-informed ones at least. Chakra is unreliable at best, and the only person he knows wants him dead. It can't hurt to try and gain the trust of this strange pair.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I accidentally a Naruto/KHR! crossover. The fic will be Kakashi/Obito later on, though it will not be particularly explicit, nor the focus of the story. Consider yourself warned, anyway!
> 
> And why are they de-aged..? Because of reasons- er, I mean, they've only had the Sharingan for eighteen years right so it makes sense for them to be eighteen in KHR!world right. Right. Also Tsuna (& the rest of the guardians) are seventeen-eighteen and Reborn is five (or so, whatever).


	2. Chapter 2

Kakashi ends up staying awake for the rest of the night, despite numerous assurances by Tsuna that he can sleep if he'd like. Even though he tells himself that he wouldn't stand a chance against Reborn and Tsuna if they really wanted to kill him, his instincts simply won't let him fall asleep under these circumstances.

Tsuna provides him with bandages to wrap the wound, which Kakashi does with an ease born of years of self-administered field dressings. Then he does Obito's, despite knowing that his former comrade would probably kick him in the face rather than thank him for any kindness.

Reborn situates himself in a hammock in the corner of Tsuna's room, while the teenager in question climbs into the only bed and immediately drops off to sleep.

What a strange pair. Kakashi's eyes linger on Tsuna's sleeping form, until Reborn, rather pointedly, pulls out one of the black weapons again.

Kakashi decides to study everything but the bed and its occupant after that. No reason to unnecessarily distress the uncanny child...

Reborn can't be more than five or six - Kakashi supposes it isn't that unusual that a child of his age should already seem so hardened. Kakashi himself was already a full-fledged shinobi at that age, after all. But on the other hand, Kakashi is far from the norm.

There's a yellow pacifier hanging around Reborn's neck, though - it seems strange that someone so mature would have such an object on their person. Pacifiers usually get put away after infancy, and while Reborn might be young, he's no infant.

"Questions, Hatake?" the child asks.

On second thought, it sounds more like a dare. "Ah, just thinking, Reborn-san," he replies politely.

Reborn snorts. "I may not be an ordinary child, but you're not what you seem to be, either," he states. It's more than a little unnerving how intense that stare is. "You act far more mature for your age than you should."

"I take it you and Tsuna-san are not the norm, then..?"

"Correct," Reborn says, dry as bone.

Such a succinct reply doesn't really tell Kakashi anything, beyond confirming something that was already fairly obvious. "The circumstances seem a bit different between the two of you, however..." Kakashi fishes.

Reborn snorts again. "To put it mildly. Why don't you acquaint me with your 'circumstances', and then I'll consider telling you something about Tsuna and me?"

Reborn is very obviously not a child. It should have been relatively easy for Kakashi to manipulate a kid into telling him pretty much anything he could think to ask, but Reborn is very much aware of who holds the power in their duo, and it isn't Kakashi. "So generous, Reborn-san," Kakashi says, smiling. "I'm not exactly certain of the circumstances myself - and things seem to work differently, here. I shall endeavour to explain things to the best of my ability, however..."

"By all means, endeavour," Reborn replies, unperturbed.

"In our dimension, Obito and I are-"

"-Obito?" Reborn interrupts, frowning now.

Kakashi glances at Obito's prone form. "He has used the alias of Madara for- for many years. But I first knew him as Obito." Kakashi attempts another smile, but it comes out as a grimace. At least he still has the face mask to hide the majority of his face, even if he is inexplicably missing the Inu mask. "We were comrades, once."

Reborn digests this information, then motions for Kakashi to continue with the tale.

"As I was saying, in our dimension, Obito and I are both adults-"

"-how much older?" Reborn interrupts again.

"Early thirties," Kakashi answers. "I don't know why we seem to be in our late teens now.

"Obito and I are the only people - that I know of - who can use a technique called Kamui. It allows us to transport objects or people to a dimension that is only accessible to the two of us - it's also called Kamui, as far as I know. Maybe Obito has another name for it. I've never been to the dimension myself, but I know that Obito has... and he's confirmed that this is not Kamui, so... Perhaps it's because we used the technique on each other simultaneously that we arrived here in... Namimori?" Kakashi shrugs; it's the only explanation he can think of, but it doesn't make much sense either.

"Hm. Given your reactions earlier, Flames of the Sky - or of the Earth - are not the primary source of energy or power in your dimension, are they?" Reborn questions.

"That's correct. We use an energy known as chakra... Everyone has it in some form, but generally those with chakra stores significant enough to use are shinobi. There are seven general elements that chakra can be molded into-"

"-seven?" Reborn interrupts. Kakashi's sensing a theme, here. "Name them."

"Fire, Water, Earth, Lightning, Wind, Yin and Yang chakra," Kakashi rattles off dutifully. "I honestly don't understand how there can be Flames of Lightning, but in the other dimension my chakra affinity was lightning, so that could explain why..."

"There are seven - well, eight - but originally there were seven Flames of the Sky," Reborn explains. "The Sky, which governs over all. It is the rarest form of Flame, and generally mafia bosses have this attribute, as in Tsuna's case. The other six are Storm, Sun, Lightning, Rain, Mist and Cloud."

"The system is based on weather..?" Kakashi frowns thoughtfully. It doesn't really make any sense to him, but he files the information away anyway. Knowing how this dimension works can only be beneficial in the long run. "And what's the eighth type that you mentioned?"

"Ah, Flames of the Night. I suppose it can be considered an even more rare form of Flame than the Sky, but before this it was limited to a select group of individuals..." Reborn looks from him to Obito's still-unconscious form. "Though as you have yet to use it since bringing yourselves here, perhaps it will remain that way."

Kakashi shrugs. "I don't know if we can. The technique was tied to a genetic trait known as the Sharingan."

"Your eyes," Reborn says. "... I noticed that your former comrade is missing one. Did you take your left eye from him, Kakashi-kun..?" It's a pleasant inquiry, like they are (still) discussing the weather.

Kakashi doesn't quite stop the flinch. He has been regretting a great many things for a very long time. "No. You're not wrong, this eye was originally Obito's... but there was a- an accident. I made a foolish decision, and Obito paid the price. He gave me this eye." And Kakashi made a promise in return.

"This occurred before he assumed the alias of 'Madara', I imagine."

"Yes. I thought he was dead. It turns out he wasn't." The alternative was so much worse.

"In the meantime, events transpired to pit the two of you against each other," Reborn surmises.

To put it mildly. "Yes."

Reborn stares at him, and Kakashi meets his gaze evenly.

"That technique - Kamui, was it? Try it now," Reborn orders abruptly.

"... I'd have to send something away, to the other dimension. That's how it always worked in the other dimension. I mean, the original one." Kakashi sighs, fully aware of how this must sound.

There are two too many dimensions for him to keep track of, now, and he's hardly in a state to try to discuss them. The overload of information is almost too much for him to take in. With Obito being revealed as (one of?) the mastermind(s?) behind the Akatsuki, their arrival in Namimori and everything that Reborn has generously told him about the place foremost in his mind, Kakashi barely has any attention to devote to trying to explain a technique that he doesn't fully understand to someone who has barely any frame of reference for it.

Reborn just looks amused by Kakashi's fumbling. He points at the desk beneath the window. "Send that lamp away, then. To Kamui, that's what you call it, isn't it."

Kakashi nods, glancing at the object in question. Perhaps, like his Flames of Lightning, the technique will just come to him.

It doesn't, though. Nothing happens.

"How disappointing," Reborn says, after a few moments. He doesn't sound disappointed or pleased either way, though. "Well, you'd better get to sleep."

"Likewise, Reborn-san," Kakashi says mildly, uncertain whether or not he should be disappointed that Kamui - or its Flame equivalent - doesn't seem to work here. It means that he and Obito probably can't return to the shinobi dimension, but perhaps that's for the best. As long as Obito's here, he can't complete his plan. "It's important for young children to get a full night's sleep, is it not?"

"I could say the same about annoying teenagers," the child returns, though he's settling himself quite comfortably in hammock as he says it.

Kakashi leans his head against the wall, but now that Reborn seems to have fallen asleep - if the snot bubble is anything to go by, never mind the still-open eyes boring into him - and the conversation has ceased, the ache in his knee has returned.

He closes his eyes anyway, trying to ignore the pain - it certainly isn't the worst he's ever felt, far from it, actually - but he can't fall asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the dryness of this chapter! But I felt like there needed to be an exchange of this kind of information between Kakashi and Reborn, so here it is. I think things will pick up next time. Obito's going to be conscious for it, at any rate, so that'll be a good time.
> 
> An anonymous reviewer asked if this fic will be told from Kakashi's POV or if others would be added - the bulk of the narrative will indeed be from Kakashi's POV, but there will probably be a few parts from Obito's. There won't be any from the KHR! characters' POV, though I might do some side stories about them later. Might, there is a very big might in there. Reader interest will, of course, be an influence on that. ;)


	3. Chapter 3

03.

Kakashi manages to doze off several times, the sky becoming progressively lighter until Tsuna's alarm goes off in the morning.

Beside him, Obito sits up abruptly, right eye wide. And staring straight at Kakashi.

"You-"

Kakashi throws himself to his feet, staggering slightly when he puts too much weight on his damaged knee. That's probably what saves him from getting anything more serious than a slight graze where one of the handful of shuriken that Obito hurls at him clips his bicep.

A shot suddenly deafens him, causing both of the shinobi to freeze. It was a warning, Kakashi presumes, because the projectile lodges itself in the wall next to Obito's head rather than in his skull.

"Ah, good morning, Obito-kun," Reborn says, chipper.

"Reborn, it's too early in the morning to be shooting," Tsuna complains, not quite a whine, as he rolls out of bed.

Kakashi wonders what kind of lives they lead, that the teenager barely bats an eyelash at a fight in the morning.

"I'll call Ryohei-nii and get him to stop by," Tsuna adds, rubbing a hand through his hair. In the light of the morning, with less pressing things on his mind, Kakashi's a little surprised to see that Tsuna's hair sticks up as much as his own.

"How do you know that name?" Obito demands, his glare switching from Reborn to Kakashi and back to the tiny figure.

"Your comrade told me," Reborn says, smirking.

"I'm going to take a shower!" Tsuna says loudly, stumbling between Kakashi and Obito on his way to the door, every bit the pampered, privileged civilian.

Kakashi still has no idea what to make of the strange duo.

"He's not my comrade!" Obito snaps, ignoring the teenager's exit.

"Oh, so he did take that left eye by force, then," Reborn remarks. "Shame on you for lying to me, Kakashi-kun." He shakes his head in a disappointed fashion, though his dark gaze never actually leaves Obito.

A conflicted expression flashes across Obito's face, before the furious mask slips back into place. "I was stupid and young. I didn't know what I was doing," he snarls.

"Not much seems to have changed since that time," Reborn observes.

"If you want to die so badly, I'd be happy to oblige you," Obito sneers.

"Will that be before or after I plug a bullet in your skull?" the child inquires.

"If you didn't have that weapon-"

"-a gun, Obito-kun, it's a gun," Reborn says patronizingly; Kakashi ignores the tone and files the foreign word away for future examination. "And that changes nothing; I still have the power here. Even though Kakashi-kun seems invested in your wellbeing, I somehow doubt he'd alienate one of the two people who knows what this world is like to take your side against me."

That child is far too observant and perceptive for his age.

"That brown-haired kid doesn't want you to shoot me," Obito snaps, but it sounds to Kakashi like he's grasping at straws.

"There are other means of killing a person. I'm the world's greatest hitman, after all," Reborn says.

The title should sound like childish boasting, but it... doesn't. Reborn is too serious and mature for it to be anything but a simple statement of fact.

"Tch. Then kill me!" Obito spreads his arms, eye narrowed in challenge.

"He's- he's joking, Reborn-san," Kakashi says hurriedly, stepping forward. "People like us are hardly used to being defeated by, ah-"

"-a mere child?" Reborn asks, sounding... wry? Rueful?

"Shut the hell up," Obito snaps. "I don't want your useless words, _Kakashi_."

"I don't think I will," Reborn says thoughtfully, returning to Obito's taunt. "If you want to die so badly, isn't it worse punishment to leave you alive?"

Kakashi goes cold and looks at Obito. Does he really-?

Obito snarls wordlessly, glaring up at Kakashi. He looks like a cornered, feral animal. "What's with that pathetic look?" he demands harshly.

Kakashi looks away. "I don't want you to die," he says, inadequate. There are so many things he wants to say to Obito, but he doesn't even know where to start.

"Well, I didn't want Rin to die," Obito spits.

Kakashi flinches.

"Who's Rin?" Reborn asks sharply.

"None of your business!"

Kakashi can feel the child's gaze on him, but he doesn't look up. He has no interest in revisiting memories that, before last night's fight, he'd managed to successfully avoid for almost twenty years.

"Tch, fine. If this Rin person is dead, I suppose it's not important," Reborn says offhandedly.

Obito's got to be aware of how Reborn is manipulating him, but he rises to the bait anyway. "Don't talk about her like that!"

"A childhood friend, perhaps? Female, so... a crush? Were you two rivals for her, or-?" Reborn muses.

Obito lunges to his feet, seemingly through sheer force of will given the state of his knees. "Shut up," he says, low and furious, clutching at the desk for support. "Just shut the fuck up."

"I agree," Kakashi says, surprising himself. "Please don't talk about Rin like that, Reborn-san."

Reborn looks from one to the other. "Hm, as you wish." He hops down from the hammock, landing lightly on the floor. "You shouldn't be exacerbating injuries like that, Obito-kun," he adds, adjusting that strange hat on his head. "Maman has made breakfast, you're welcome to have some if you can make it down the stairs."

And he just walks out.

Kakashi glances at Obito. Only the left side of his profile is visible, so all Kakashi can see is the empty eye socket.

"Sawada! Where are these extreme strangers that you wanted me to look at!?" someone bellows from the first floor, in a tone startlingly reminiscent of Gai.

Reborn can be heard answering the bellower, though his exact words are hard to make out. A moment later, someone comes stomping up the stairs and bounds into the bedroom.

The loud boy - young man, really - takes in Kakashi, leaning awkwardly against the wall, and Obito, who's holding himself up on willpower alone, and goes, "You got shot in both knees and you're still standing? EXTREME!"

Kakashi takes one look at the expression on Obito's face upon hearing this pronouncement and starts chuckling. He slides down the wall, unable to stop the hysterical laughter from escaping.

"He seems to be extremely unstable," the young man remarks, a strange mixture of boisterous and confused.

"Really, Ryohei? You're faced with a one-eyed, scarred boy who is managing to stand with two shattered kneecaps, and you think the other one is unstable?"

In all the ruckus, Kakashi hadn't even noticed Reborn perched on the man's shoulder.

"Chrome-chan only has one eye! Maybe she can give him eye patch advice. Then you would look really extreme!" Ryohei, apparently, adds to Obito.

Obito turns to Kakashi. "Please kill me," he says flatly.

That draws Kakashi up short. "Don't even joke about that."

Obito narrows his eye, then abruptly turns back to Ryohei and Reborn. "Aren't you here to heal us?" he asks curtly.

"Yes! I'll heal you to the limit!" Ryohei agrees. "By the way, do either of you participate in the extreme sport of boxing?"

Kakashi makes the mistake of asking what boxing is in an attempt to lighten the heavy atmosphere, and he and Obito are subjected to a lengthy lecture about the extreme sport while Ryohei healed them with his Flames of the Sun.

It was hardly a great first impression of Tsuna's guardians (not that Kakashi or Obito knew about that, at the time) but it was, sadly, indicative of things to come.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Was Ryohei too extreme? Please don't hesitate to tell me if he was. I don't want to go over the top with him.


	4. Chapter 4

Ryohei leaves after healing Kakashi and Obito's wounds, shouting something about seeing them later. Kakashi ignores his words with the ease that he'd managed to tune out Ryohei's loud lecture about boxing and how extreme a sport it was.

Tsuna ambles in afterward, his hair still slightly damp. He casts a critical eye over them. "I guess you can stay here for today," he remarks. "It will take at least a day to get you uniforms for school, and you can spend the day getting used to this dimension."

He sounds very calm and reasonable about this. Kakashi has to wonder what kind of experience Tsuna has with dimensional displacement. Or maybe he is just this freakishly zen about everything.

"School?" he asks blankly, starting to wish that he'd paid Ryohei's parting words a little more attention.

"We're not staying here," Obito says at the same time, considerably more aggressive.

Tsuna blinks, gazing between the two of them before settling on Obito. "Reborn told me you were stuck here," he says.

Obito scowls. "Ridiculous. We can use Kamui-"

"'We'?" Tsuna interrupts, raising his eyebrows.

Kakashi had been wondering the same, though he hadn't wanted to ask.

Obito inhales sharply, his jaw setting as a furious expression appears on his face. "Now that _I_ 've rested and recovered, there's nothing stopping me from leaving," he snaps.

"You can't go back," Kakashi says. "I tried to use Kamui, Obito. It didn't work."

Obito spares him a brief glance, before his attention seems to focus inward.

Tsuna busies himself with packing a book bag, apparently unconcerned.

After several long moments, Obito's gaze sharpens again and he glares at Kakashi. "This is your fault," he hisses.

"No fighting, please," Tsuna puts in mildly, even as he glances at the watch on his slender wrist.

"We sent each other here," Kakashi reminds him.

"Trash," Obito snarls, possibly to Kakashi or maybe to the room at large, before he stalks out.

Reborn, the little demon, is leaning against the wall opposite the door. "You want to leave?" he asks, uncrossing his arms. "I think you know that I can't let you on a rampage."

At least, Kakashi thinks, Obito doesn't try to dispute Reborn's ability to keep him there.

"I'm not going to go out and kill people," Obito snaps.

"I don't trust you," Reborn says.

Obito makes a derisive noise, as if to say that he doesn't need Reborn's trust.

"If you want to leave the house, I got uniforms for the two of you." Reborn tosses a bundle of clothes at Obito's feet, then to Kakashi.

"Already?" Tsuna asks, though he doesn't actually sound terribly surprised. "Enrollment-?"

It's a plain white shirt, the same as Tsuna's wearing, and grey slacks, Kakashi sees.

"I took the liberty of asking Hibari to push their applications through," Reborn says, a little smugly. "And they'll be in the same class as Ryohei and Hibari. I think it should be fine, don't you?"

"I'm not going to _school_ ," Obito says, sounding almost scandalized at the prospect. Shinobi learn everything they need in the Academy, or on the field; higher education is the almost exclusive purview of civilians. _Wealthy_ civilians. Shinobi have little need for it.

"Not dressed like that, you're not," Reborn agrees. "Do I have to dress you myself?"

"Try i-" Kakashi presses a hand over Obito's mouth and beams his best smile at Reborn.

"I'm sure we can manage, Reborn-san. Perhaps a little privacy..?"

Reborn narrows his eyes, but his mouth quirks up in amusement. "I'll be waiting outside the window if either of you try to escape," he informs them, turning on his heel to hop down the stairs in about three bounds.

"You have about five minutes. Tardiness is frowned upon," Tsuna tells them earnestly. "Even for new students. Especially since Reborn called in a favour with the head prefect."

"Head prefect?" Kakashi repeats. Then, "Never mind, Tsuna-san. You can explain the relevant details on our way to the school, can't you?"

Tsuna nods. "I'll get you something to eat while you're changing." He shuts the door behind him, leaving Obito and Kakashi alone.

Obito elbows in the side, hard.

Kakashi staggers away, wincing.

"Don't touch me again," Obito says coldly, picking up the bundle of clothes and stalking to the corner furthest away from him.

Kakashi bites back a sigh, absently wiping his palm on his pants.

"And stop watching!" Obito snarls, glaring over his shoulder.

Kakashi blinks, but turns away. If Obito wants to change in the corner, without looking at him - or Kakashi looking at him - well, Kakashi can grant him that modicum of privacy.

The clothes are strange, the fabric thinner than Kakashi's used to and the slacks have no pockets. Where is he going to hide his projectile weapons? he wonders wryly, even as he sets aside his katana. It feels wrong to be unarmed - usually he has at least a kunai - but what good would a blade be against a gun? Reborn had proven how badly overmatched he and Obito were in this dimension - even if he was far from the norm.

After a little debate, he decides to keep his face mask on; unless Reborn or Tsuna asks him to take it off - and even then he'll probably argue - it's going to stay that way.

He's a little surprised at how well the clothes fit, but Reborn did have a discerning eye about him. Perhaps Kakashi shouldn't have been surprised that the child would guess his measurements so accurately.

There remains a thin strip of cloth that he has no idea what to do with. It's not a belt, and he's fairly certain that he'd seen an identical garment tied around Tsuna's neck earlier.

Obito makes a wordless noise of disgust and stalks over to the door. The strip of red cloth is looped around his fist - apparently he couldn't figure it out either.

"What," Obito snaps, his shoulders tense. Kakashi wonders where the confident megalomaniac went.

"Couldn't get it either, huh?" Kakashi says lightly, holding up the cloth.

Obito's eye narrows. "Obviously." He opens the door and walks away.

Kakashi falls into step beside him, resolutely ignoring the irritated glare this action earns him. He can't help but notice the darker skin of Obito's right arm - it's the same as the strangely pinched skin on the right side of his face. Kakashi had assumed it was scar tissue, but his arm is unblemished - it's just a darker shade than Obito's Uchiha-pale skin. The contrast is even more obvious on Obito's neck without his high collar to disguise the jagged line where dark skin meets paler.

Some kind of skin graft from where Obito's body was crushed by the rocks all those years ago? But that didn't explain why his arm was fully-functioning instead of a twisted ruin...

"Oh, you must be Tsuna's new friends~!" a woman says, peering through the doorway leading to- the kitchen, Kakashi sees. Tsuna's stuffing a piece of toast into his mouth at the table. He assumes the woman is his mother - their facial features are rather similar, and she has the same wide, innocent-looking eyes.

"It's so hard to keep track of them all," Tsuna's mother continues. "Why, even five years ago Tsuna was a no-good loser... But he's so popular now, it does a mother's heart proud." She beams at them.

Kakashi sees Obito sneer out of the corner of his eye, and he jumps in before the Uchiha can say anything. "Ah, that's right. We just met Tsuna-san recently, as it so happens. I'm Hatake Kakashi, and this is Uchiha Obito - it's a pleasure to meet you, Sawada-san." He bows to her.

"My! So polite, and so handso-"

"Mom!" Tsuna says, a strained smile on his face as he walks up to them. "We've got to get going, or we'll be late." He hands Kakashi and Obito two pieces of toast each and hustles them out the door.

"Bye, Tsu-kun! Have a good day!" his mother calls, leaning out the door and waving at them.

"He even got the shoe size right," Kakashi says bemusedly.

Tsuna nods. "Reborn's good with details."

Obito says nothing, though he somehow manages to convey his disdain through eating his toast.

"So, who is this head prefect?" Kakashi asks. "And what _is_ a head prefect, for that matter?"

"Hibari Kyouya. He's- well, we work for the same organization. The head prefect is like..." Tsuna frowns faintly, trying to figure out how to explain. "The head of the Disciplinary Committee. Prefects are below teachers in terms of authority."

Kakashi nods slowly, filing the information away.

"Except, in Hibari-san's case, it wouldn't be wrong to say that he is the highest level of authority at Namimori High."

Kakashi frowns.

"So you're saying that stupid kid indebted us to the most powerful person at your school?" Obito asks, not sounding terribly pleased by the prospect. Kakashi agrees with that sentiment.

"Exactly," Tsuna agrees. "And Hibari-san is... very strict." He casts a critical eye over them. "Oh, you didn't put your ties on."

Kakashi holds up the strip of red cloth.

"Yes, that. Also, you'll have to take off the mask. Hibari-san doesn't tolerate dress code violations."

Kakashi loops the... tie around his neck, beneath the collar of his shirt, but the knot that Tsuna has made in his is beyond him. Tsuna stops, and quickly knots it for him. A moment later, he does the same for Obito.

"I'm sure we'll be able to work something out," Kakashi says with a smile.

Tsuna looks at him doubtfully. "Hibari-san won't hesitate to hurt you," he warns him as they start walking again.

"For something as trivial as a dress code?" Kakashi asks skeptically. (In hindsight, he'll decide that he should have realized none of Tsuna's acquaintances were approaching normal, even if he'd only met Reborn and Ryohei at that point.)

Tsuna nods with obvious reluctance. "Don't say I didn't warn you."

Kakashi smiles. "Thank you for the warning, Tsuna-san." He's confident he can take anyone who's actually eighteen, anomalies like Reborn and Tsuna himself aside.

Tsuna frowns at him, but says nothing more on the subject.

"Getting that bastard to take off his mask is like pulling teeth," Obito says.

"Ah, I've been meaning to ask, actually," Tsuna says, taking advantage of the opening. "How do the two of you know each other?"

Obito stiffens. "None of your business."

Kakashi shrugs, not too keen to delve into the matter himself. He'd told Reborn as much as he was willing to divulge the night before, and considering Tsuna knew about Kakashi's failed attempt to use Kamui, Reborn must have related what he'd said to the teen.

"I guess it's a little early in our acquaintance to be asking such personal questions," Tsuna concludes, unbothered by their reticence.

Which implies that he won't be letting the issue go, not permanently, anyway. It also suggests that he intends to keep Obito and Kakashi around, despite knowing next to nothing about either of them.

Kakashi doesn't know what to make of him. He occupies the rest of the walk with taking stealthy bites of the toast, but he's pretty sure that Tsuna catches a few glimpses of his face anyway. Ah, well.


	5. Chapter 5

Their walk ends in front of a large building, with a solid stone fence surrounding it. The sign on the posts marks it as _Namimori High School_.

A dark-haired boy around their age is loitering just inside the gates. There are several students walking in, and it could be Kakashi's imagination but it seems like they're trying to stay as far away as physically possible from the boy.

His appearance is nondescript, apart from the sharp, predatory gaze that sizes the three of them up as they approach. He has a black and red band around his upper arm, and a black jacket hangs off his shoulders.

"That's Hibari-san," Tsuna tells them. Then adds, to himself, "At least we're not late..."

The boy steps in front of them when the walk through the gates. Tsuna stops, and Kakashi and Obito follow suit.

"Good morning, Hibari-san," Tsuna says.

"Sawada. Class is about to start. Don't be late," the boy says coolly. He doesn't spare Tsuna so much as a glance.

"Of course. But, ah, Hibari-san... These two are new to this area. They don't know much about things yet..."

"No crowding," Hibari says pointedly, turning to look at Tsuna.

"... Of course," Tsuna repeats, and walks toward the main building. He casts one worried glance at them over his shoulder before entering the doors.

"Take off the mask," Hibari says, without preamble. His tone makes it clear that there is no room for discussion.

Kakashi tries discussing anyway. "I'd rather not- germs, you know. And I feel uncomfortable when people stare at my face," he explains, smiling.

"Take it off, or I'll bite you to death."

Kakashi stares, not quite certain how to respond to that. He can't recall ever facing such unyielding resistance; the first time he'd been eighteen, he'd made a name for himself as the legendary Copy-Nin. The moniker made people wary of him, and superiors were more willing to overlook his... eccentricities in light of his abilities.

Well, face masks were more common there, too.

Also, no one had ever managed to make the threat 'I'll bite you to death' sound quite so threatening. It should have been laughable, but like Reborn's assertion that he was the best hitman in the world... it isn't.

"Herbivore," Hibari adds, and two tonfa - collapsible, Kakashi's never seen the like before - suddenly appear in his hands.

Kakashi's eyes widen, his left eye warning him of what's about to happen a second before it actually does. Nevertheless, he's caught off guard and slow enough to dodge that one metal tonfa nearly grazes his cheek.

Tonfa are uncommon weapons - shinobi rarely use them, apart from weapon specialists like Gai's pupil Tenten - because it's difficult to kill a person with them. Messier.

Judging by the fierce light in Hibari's eyes, Kakashi feels confident enough to guess that Hibari enjoys the challenge. And the ensuing carnage.

"Whoa, hold on," Kakashi protests; he'd been decidedly unthreatening, but the prefect hadn't hesitated to launch an attack anyway. His hand falls to his thigh, but there's no weapons pouch. Judging by the speed those tonfa are moving, Kakashi imagines that being hit by one would not be pleasant.

"I don't negotiate. Especially with weaklings," Hibari informs him.

"Eek! Hibari-san's punishing someone," a girl shrieks nearby; Kakashi had nearly forgotten that other students were arriving. They're all clearing a wide space around the three of them, but don't stop to watch. That last fact surprises Kakashi - usually people stop and stare whenever a fight occurs.

"Oh, I see," Kakashi says, not sparing any further glances for the other students as he tries to stay one step ahead of Hibari. Most of them are staying away, and more than of them break into a run when Kakashi (and by extension Hibari) come near. "It's easy to call an unarmed individual weak when you attack them with weapons."

Hibari's eyes narrow. "Enough talking." Incredibly, his movements become even faster, the lethal aura that Hibari's exuding increasing at the same time.

This isn't the strongest killing intent Kakashi has ever faced, but he's never felt the like in someone this young.

"Kakashi." A kunai clatters to the ground a few feet away; Kakashi's trace its trajectory to Obito's outstretched hand, but he doesn't have time to do more than register the unreadable expression on the Uchiha's face.

Kakashi dives for the weapon and rolls to his feet, bringing it up just in time to block what would have probably been a devastating blow to the head; Kakashi's feels the impact all the way up his arm. He throws himself out of the way as Hibari brings the other tonfa around, taking advantage of his unprotected back.

Ambidextrous opponents, Kakashi decided back when he was a newly-minted jounin, were a pain in the ass. Hibari is no exception.

He's hard-pressed to find an opening, but now that he has the option of blocking Hibari's attacks instead of being forced to dodge all of them, Kakashi at least has a chance.

Hibari is a good fighter - hell, he's one of the best that Kakashi's ever seen - but Kakashi's beginning to see the pattern of his attacks. Against a regular opponent, Hibari's fighting style would probably seem flawless; he moves far too swiftly for a person with normal vision to be able to make out his attacks. But Kakashi's left eye gives him the edge he needs to find an opening.

Kakashi doesn't hesitate to take it when the opportunity presents itself. He slips under one of Hibari's spinning tonfa, stepping into the prefect's space and stopping with the point of the kunai pressed against the fragile space between his ribs; if Kakashi had wanted too, he could have stabbed Hibari in the heart.

Hibari steps back and smashes his other tonfa into the side of Kakashi's head; he hears a sharp crack, and judging by the blinding pain that suddenly radiates from the lower half of his head, it wasn't just from the tonfa.

Kakashi's feet actually leave the ground from the force of the blow and he barely manages to regain his footing as his shoes slide against the pavement. He opens his mouth to say something - anything - to Hibari, but that motion multiplies the pain tenfold. He presses his empty hand against his jaw gingerly; no matter where he touches, it hurts.

Did Hibari really manage to break his jaw-?

Belatedly, Kakashi realizes that blood is filling his mouth. He must have cut his cheek.

"He beat you," Obito snaps, breaking the silence that had dominated the courtyard. Kakashi dimly recalls hearing some bells sound while he and Hibari were fighting, presumably signalling the beginning of the school day. That explained the lack of students.

"He hesitated," Hibari corrects. His tonfa are still raised, but he makes no move to close the distance between them.

"Bullshit," Obito snarls.

Hibari turns to face him; Kakashi does the same.

"You're late for class, herbivore," Hibari remarks.

"No one fucking told us where to go. And we would've been fine with Sawada, if you hadn't stopped us here," Obito says furiously.

"I only stopped that." Hibari jerks his head in Kakashi's direction, then turns away from them. "But since you're here- Escort him to the nurse's office, then report to the administrative office for your schedule," he says, striding away.

They watch Hibari disappear around the corner of the building. Kakashi tucks the kunai into his pocket, for lack of a better place to put it. When he looks at Obito, his expression is still enraged.

Deciding not to press his luck, Kakashi starts walking towards the main entrance. For whatever reason, Hibari seems to have let them go - he figures he should do as he's told before he's attacked again.

Kakashi hears hurried footsteps behind him, and Obito falls into step beside him. The halls are deserted when they enter the building, but he can hear several adult voices speaking nearby. Teachers, presumably.

As they stand in the middle of the hallway, at a loss, a student slides open the door of a nearby classroom and walks out. When she spots them standing there, she smiles and hurries over.

"You must be Hatake-kun and Uchiha-kun," she says brightly. "We were watching the fight from the window. That was very impressive, ah-" She looks at Kakashi expectantly.

Kakashi gestures at his jaw, hoping that expresses his inability to introduce himself. It's interesting that she seems to know their names, but not who is who. Another of Tsuna's... acquaintances? They're in the same school, after all, though it's a large institution.

"He's the Hatake," Obito says curtly, after a few moments.

The girl inclines her head. "Thank you, Uchiha-kun." She purses her lips, giving them a slow once-over. It isn't sexual, though, which actually serves to make Kakashi more uncomfortable than if it had been. He can see Obito's shoulders approaching his ears the longer her scrutiny lasts.

"Well! I suppose we should take you to the nurse's office, Hatake-kun."

Kakashi lets his eyes fall closed, projecting a smile of gratitude to her.

This mysterious girl, whoever she is, has more than a passing resemblance to Tsuna's mother, though she seems considerably more tactful. She chatters away about the school, giving them information about several main areas - the cafeteria, the gymnasium, various offices - as she leads them to the nurse's office.

A slovenly man is napping at the desk when they enter.

"Really," the girl mutters under her breath and marches over. "Dr. Shamal!"

The man snorts, sitting up abruptly. His gaze is sleepy, but there's something sharp in those eyes. He sizes them up with brisk efficiency before turning to the girl. "Hm, what's the matter? Do you need a breast examination-?" He leers at her.

Obito makes a noise of disgust.

"No, I don't," she says firmly. "But Hatake-kun's jaws is hurt - possibly fractured, maybe even broken. If you could do something about that..." She leans forward, bats her eyelashes. "I would _really_ appreciate it, Dr. Shamal."

Shamal goes a little cross-eyed, a slow grin breaking across his face. "Yeah... yeah... Wait, no." He shakes his head, casts a glare at Obito and Kakashi. "I don't treat male patients. Besides, how can you tell that kid's jaw's broken? He's wearing a mask."

The girl pouts. "But what would the administrators think if they heard about this, sir?" she asks earnestly. "Not to mention... They're Tsuna-kun's friends."

Recognition flickers across Shamal's face, but he remains resolute. "Then shouldn't Sawada take care of this? How did the kid's jaw get broken in the first place, anyway?"

"He got in a fight with Hibari," Obito puts in. "And after that, Hibari told me to take to the nurse's office." He glances around the otherwise empty room pointedly. "I can always tell Hibari you were too busy to treat him, though."

Shamal shudders dramatically. "I don't get paid enough for this shit," he mutters, levering himself to his feet with obvious reluctance.

"I'm sure you could find employment elsewhere if you really tried, Dr. Shamal," the girl says brightly, all sunny, meaningless smiles again.

"No," he says curtly, striding over to Kakashi. "You're gonna have to pull that mask down, kid," he informs him.

Kakashi does so, though not eagerly; the girl glances at him briefly, but with the same impersonal detachment that she'd given them when she'd first seen them. She wanders over to look out the window as Shamal starts prodding at his throbbing left cheek.

Obito's staring openly, an expression that can only be described as disgruntled on his face.

"Right, here's some ice and painkillers," Shamal says a few minutes later.

Kakashi swallows the pills dry with ease of practice, though the actions causes his jaw to hurt even more. He pulls his mask back up and then presses the icepack over it.

"Your brother or Reborn could fix this easily enough," Shamal adds, his tone bordering on accusatory, to the girl.

The girl turns away from the window and shrugs. "I know."

Shamal mutters something under his breath and slumps back into the chair. "Now go away," he says, crossing his arms on the desk and dropping his head on top.

"Thank you, Dr. Shamal," the girl says brightly, beaming at him. He ignores her, a muffled _go away!_ the only answer she gets.

"Well, we shouldn't keep him," the girl says, walking back over. "He's a very busy man."

"He would be, with a demon like Hibari for head prefect," Obito says.

The girl laughs, startled and genuine.

If Kakashi hadn't been walking a few paces behind them, gingerly holding the ice to his face, he probably wouldn't have noticed the way the back of Obito's neck reddened - the old tell for when Obito was embarrassed or angry.

He files this observation away for further examination and quickens his pace to fall in next to Obito.

The pain's receding much faster than Kakashi would have anticipated. Perhaps these are different analgesics than the ones in their dimension? He really has no way of knowing.

"Excuse me," he says, slowly and with difficulty, when the girl's laughter fades.

She glances at him. "Yes, Hatake-kun?"

"Hibari had a uniform jacket. Could I..?"

"Oh, you want one?" the girl asks. "I think there's some spares... They'd be at the lost and found, which is by the administrative office."

"Hibari told us to go there after..." Kakashi gestures back the way they'd just come.

"Great. I'll take you there, but then I should probably get back to class," the girl says.

Kakashi smiles at her. "Thank you for your help."

The girl nods, as if this whole experience has been just another normal morning for her. "Of course, Hatake-kun. It was my pleasure."

Obito scowls. "The administrative office?" he asks impatiently.

"This way..."


End file.
